Latest News
-
The Russian central bank claims that higher fuel prices in Russia have accelerated the consumer price increase
The Russian central bank published the minutes of its July 24 meeting on Wednesday. They stated that higher fuel prices in Russia accelerated the consumer price growth in June by 0.3% and by 0.2% in the first half. After Ukrainian drone attacks on oil refining facilities disrupted the supply, Russians experienced a 'fuel shortage across all 11 time zones of the country. This led to long queues, higher gas prices, and rationing in some regions. Authorities say that the?situation? has stabilised?in many areas. Central bank officials said that the total direct and indirect impact on inflation of the fuel price increase will not exceed 1.5% for the entire year. The benchmark interest rate was cut to 14% from 14.25% on July 24, despite an 'inflation spike linked to Ukrainian drone strikes on major oil refineries and ecommerce warehouses. The regulator stated that most?board members thought there was room for more rate cuts in this?year, although the scope had shrunk. Reporting by Elena Fabrichnaya, Writing by Anastasia Teterevleva, Editing by Andrew Osborn
-
TAE, a developer of fusion energy, signs an agreement for future fuel supply options with helium-3
TAE Technologies, a developer of fusion energy, announced on Wednesday that it had signed a deal with Black Moon Energy, whose private company could 'provide helium-3 as a fuel option in the future for its planned power plant. Nuclear fusion is still a long way from commercial power plants. Developers are still trying to prove the performance of reactors, attract capital, and ensure long-term supply. TAE has raised over $1 billion from Alphabet, Google, and Chevron. It is planning to build its first fusion plant, Da Vinci. The power plant will be able to generate 50 megawatts of electricity. Site selection is planned for later this year and operations are expected to start in 2031. The company stated that future power plants will be designed to produce between 350 and 500 megawatts. According to the companies, this agreement also includes collaboration in commercial development. Michl Binderbauer, TAE's chief executive officer, said that the agreement could offer a "alternative fuel supply option" as the company transitions to commercial power generation. Trump Media announced in December that it would acquire TAE through an all-stock transaction valued at more than $6 billion. This deal would create a publicly-traded fusion-energy firm. In 'June, the companies had planned to spin-off Trump Media's legacy business in social media, including Truth Social, and other assets into a separate listed entity. The Foothill Ranch, California-based firm expects to file merger-related documents to U.S. regulators, and complete the transaction by the end of 2026. This is subject to regulatory approvals, and other closing conditions.
-
India eyes Venezuela blocks operatorship; regains Russia's Sakhalin-1 stake
India's Oil and Natural Gas 'Corp (ONGC) hopes to sign agreements soon with Venezuela 'to operate two oil 'blocks under the South 'American nation's 'new petroleum 'law', its finance chief'said 'on Wednesday. ONGC Videsh (ONGC Videsh is the overseas investment arm of the state-run ONGC) holds a stake of 40% in the San Cristobal oil field, and along with other Indian firms, a stake 18% in the Carabobo-1 Project. "Now, we are able to work freely on Venezuelan projects." We had restricted our operations in Venezuela because of sanctions-related risks," said finance director Anupam agarwal on a?analyst's call following the company's earnings for the June quarter. He said Venezuela offered additional incentives under its 'petroleum laws' and that ONGC was experienced in 'operating fields of similar geology? in India. He said, "We are taking over operatorship of some projects from PDVSA, we believe we will soon see positive developments." RUSSIAN SKHALIN-1 ASSET Agarwal stated that ONGC regained their 20% stake in Russia's Sakhalin-1 project for oil and gas after a four-year gap. He said that the restored stake increased the group's revenue contribution to the project from 5 billion to 6 billion rupees. After the West imposed broad?sanctions against Moscow in response to its invasion of Ukraine, Sakhalin-1 was transferred by Russia to a new domestic operator. ONGC has agreed to pay?payments to the Sakhalin-1 Abandonment Fund?in roubles, using dividends that have been frozen in Russia. This will allow it to keep its 20% stake, as was reported last year.
-
India eyes Venezuela blocks operatorship; regains Russia's Sakhalin-1 stake
India's Oil and Natural Gas 'Corp (ONGC) hopes to sign agreements soon with Venezuela 'to operate two oil 'blocks under the South 'American nation's 'new petroleum 'law', its finance chief'said 'on Wednesday. ONGC Videsh (ONGC Videsh is the overseas investment arm of the state-run ONGC) holds a stake of 40% in the San Cristobal oil field, and along with other Indian firms, an 18% share in the Carabobo-1 Project. "Now, we are able to work freely on Venezuelan projects." We had restricted our operations in Venezuela because of sanctions-related risks," said finance director Anupam agarwal on a?analyst's call following the company's earnings for the June quarter. He said Venezuela offered additional incentives under its 'petroleum laws' and that ONGC was experienced in?operating similar geology - fields?in India. He said, "We are taking over operatorship of some projects from PDVSA." We believe that we will soon see positive developments. The new agreements have been signed. RUSSIAN SKHALIN-1 ASSET Agarwal stated that ONGC regained their 20% stake in Russia's Sakhalin-1 project for oil and gas after a four-year gap. He said that the restored stake increased the group's revenue contribution to the project from 5 billion-6 billion rupees per quarter, up to a total of?10 billion Indian?rupees (about 105.13 millions dollars). After the West imposed broad?sanctions against Moscow in response to its invasion of Ukraine, Sakhalin-1 was transferred by Russia to a new domestic operator. ONGC has agreed to pay?payments to the Sakhalin-1 Abandonment Fund?in roubles, using dividends that have been frozen in Russia. This will allow it to keep its 20% stake, as was reported last year.
-
Reliance's luxury unit brings Kim Kardashian SKIMS to India
Reliance Brands is the luxury retail arm of Reliance Retail. They have partnered with Kim Kardashian's SKIMS in order to bring this shapewear brand into India. This comes as global companies race to enter India's growing fashion and beauty market. The company, which is a subsidiary of Mukesh-Ambani's Reliance Industries, said that it would launch the SKIMS name across both physical and digital channels?starting in Delhi and Mumbai. Indian beauty retailers are racing to introduce international brands into the country as Gen Z and younger consumers gravitate towards global trends in beauty and brands backed by celebrities, thanks to social media. This year, Indian beauty and fashion retailer Nykaa teamed up both with Selena Gomez’s Rare Beauty as well as Shiseido Group’s NARS Cosmetics. SKIMS is a new partnership that will add to Reliance Retail’s growing portfolio of foreign brands, including Rihanna’s Fenty Beauty, Fenty Skin and designer brands like Stella McCartney and Valentino. The entry of SKIMS comes at a time when India's shapewear industry is booming, with a mix?of?homegrown direct to consumer brands, such as Underneat, competing for customers. SKIMS, founded in 2019, has recently opened'stores in London and Dubai after raising $225m in funding which valued the company at 5 billion dollars.
-
Phillips 66 surpasses its quarterly expectations as the Iran War boosts US refining profits
Phillips 66'reported a nearly 4-fold increase in'second-quarter profits on Wednesday, crushing Wall Street expectations, as the Middle East conflic? squeezed global fuel suppli?es and sent U.S. refinery margins soaring. The Iran War has been a boon to U.S. refiners, as buyers from around the world have scrambled for alternative fuels amid fears of disruptions in Middle Eastern exports. Fuel exports from the United States have reached record levels, especially for diesel and other refined fuels. Phillips' refining segment reported a record jump in earnings adjusted to $3.09 Billion from $392 MILLION a year ago. The?realized profit margin? in the second quarter?more than?doubled from a year ago to $24.08 a barrel. The company's quarterly net profit was $3.85 billion. This is its highest quarterly profit since the 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine, which disrupted global supply chain and increased refinery earnings. In premarket trading, shares of the company increased 1.4% to $208,67. Phillips 66’s renewable fuel segment reported a quarterly adjusted profit of $544 million compared to a loss of $133 millions a year ago. After years of margin pressures, U.S. refiners have begun to see better returns on renewable fuels. This is due to a recent rise in the blending of biofuels mandates as well as a rise in diesel prices related to the Middle East conflict. According to data compiled and published by LSEG, Houston-based Phillips 66 posted an adjusted profit of $9.41 for the three months ended June 30 compared to analysts' average estimates of $7.44.
-
Hungary and Albania both cut power in the face of Europe's heat
Emergency services in Albania battled a wildfire?in the southern region Mallakaster while?Hungarians?cut back on power consumption due to a heatwave?and drought?that continued to affect large parts of Europe's south and east. This summer, Europe, the continent that is warming up fastest in the world, was ravaged with record-breaking temperatures and devastating wildfires. France and Spain were particularly hard hit. It is now Italy that has been focusing on the heatwave. Temperatures in some places reached around 40 degrees Celsius. It was the heat that prompted the Vatican's decision to move Pope?Leo's weekly general audience, which had been held in St Peter's Square during the July holiday, indoors. Rome visitors welcomed the decision, as they were seeking relief from the hot conditions. A tourist from Mexico named?Diego Amaya said, "I suppose that it is better to have it inside because of the heat." RECORD LOW ON DANUBE Hungarian households and companies reduced their power consumption in the past week following a government appeal to reduce the pressure on the grid due to the severe drought. Budapest, the capital of Hungary, is bracing itself for the heatwave's peak on Wednesday and Thursday. Temperatures of 40 C to42 C (104 F - 108 F) are expected. The Danube's record-low levels have forced Hungary to shut down its only nuclear plant that uses river water for cooling. This has created an energy crisis which has stretched the power supply capacity to the limit. Wildfires in Albania's Mallakaster forced 15 families to evacuate, along with their animals and pets. Ground and aerial crews battled the flames, trying to prevent them from reaching homes near a nearby village. In the rocky, mountainous terrain, south of Gjirokaster, an Albanian city, efforts continued to be made to contain another wildfire. This fire was likely started by lightning. A wildfire in Greece has destroyed thousands of acres of farmland northwest of Athens. The fire was likely caused by electricity conductors vibrating and then fanned with gale force winds. On Wednesday, the fire appeared to be largely contained. However, hundreds of firefighters were still in the area to keep it from re-igniting. Six helicopters also doused scattered smoke spots. The agriculture is suffering from the hot and dry summer. According to an analysis released on Wednesday, Britain's cereal harvest is likely to be the worst since 1984 when comparable records were first kept. This is because the crops have withered after one of the most arid and hot spring-summer seasons on record.
-
Gold reaches a one-month high as US-Iran hopes for peace ease inflation concerns
On Wednesday, gold rose by more than 2% to a new one-month-high as investors looked forward to key U.S. employment data and hoped that a U.S. Iran peace deal would ease inflation fears. By 1113 GMT, spot gold had risen 2.3% to $4168.34 an ounce, its highest since July 7. U.S. Gold Futures increased 1.8% to $4227.40. Donald Trump, the U.S. president, said that his administration had "very positive discussions" with Iran on Tuesday during an all-day negotiation. This has fueled expectations for a quick end to this five-month conflict. There are more signs that a Gulf ceasefire agreement is in the works, and this means Treasury yields will be moving lower on account of inflation concerns, making non-yielding investments like gold even more attractive," Jamie Dutta said, a market expert at trading platform Nemo.money. The U.S. Dollar remained under pressure. This made metals priced in greenbacks more appealing to holders of other currencies. Yields on the benchmark 10-year U.S. Treasury notes fell to an all-time low. In a high-interest rate environment, gold tends to lose appeal despite its role as an inflation hedge. It yields no return. According to the CME FedWatch Tool, traders now price in a 57% chance of a rate hike for September, down from 67% one day earlier. Jeff Schmid, President of the Federal Reserve Bank of Kansas City, said that monetary policy needs to be tightened to bring "too-high" inflation to 2%. Concerns about the Fed’s credibility are likely to ease over the next few months as the central bank increases interest rates. This would lead to gold prices dropping and settling under $4,000 per ounce by the end of this?year," said Hamad Hussain a climate and commodities economist with Capital Economics. The ADP Employment Report is due at 1215 GMT, and the non-farm payroll report for July will be released on Friday. Spot silver rose 3.3% to $61.50 an ounce, its highest level since July 7. Palladium was up 1.5% at $1,373.35, following a two-month high. Platinum rose 1% to $1752.20. (Reporting and editing by Rashmi aich and Joyjeet Das in Bengaluru)
MORNING BID AMERICAS-Tariff Man turns terminator
What the ROI team and Mike Dolan are looking forward to reading, watching and listening to this weekend. Editor's Notes
Hello Morning Bid readers! The White House announced on Thursday that Donald Trump will meet with Chinese president Xi Jinping during his Asia trip next week. This boosted Asian equities on Friday. On Thursday, Trump wrote on Truth Social, that negotiations with Canada, another major U.S. trade partner, had been "TERMINATED" because of a "fraudulent ad" showing Ronald Reagan criticizing tariffs. The U.S. signed a trade deal with Australia on Monday, which will invest up to $8 billion in projects that develop and refine metals essential to industries such as defence, advanced manufacturing, and energy transition. Clyde Russell, ROI Asia Commodities columnist, argues that while this deal is not a game changer for the U.S. or its allies in their quest to reduce reliance on China, it is still a good first step. Investors, who were deprived of economic data due to the government shutdown will receive official information on the economy today. The CPI inflation rate for September. It is expected to remain at 3.1% over the past year. As ROI's editor-at-large Mike Dolan points out, the markets will likely shrug off this announcement, since almost no one cares about inflation any more. The job market is what matters, according to Federal Reserve Chair Jay Powell at the FOMC meeting in September. Jamie McGeever, a columnist for ROI markets, argues that the fall in Treasury yields over the past month -- the 10-Year yield dropped below 4% this week -- shows investors are listening to Powell. Intel, among many other companies, reported strong results for the third quarter, while Netflix and Tesla posted disappointing results. Jamie McGeever says that we may be seeing signs of the equity rally expanding. Geopolitics was once again at the forefront of this week's energy markets as President Trump imposed sanctions on two Russian oil companies, Rosneft, and Lukoil, on Wednesday in an attempt to press Russian President Vladimir Putin into agreeing to a ceasefire agreement in Ukraine. Ron Bousso, ROI Energy's columnist, argues that Trump's willingness and ability to enforce secondary sanctions will determine the effectiveness of this measure. Brent crude prices rose over 5% after the announcement, but it is likely that this increase will be short-lived as global oil markets are widely believed to have an oversupply. Ron Bousso points out that the uncertainty around OPEC+'s production should limit any selling. Gavin Maguire, ROI Energy Transition columnist, pointed out that, in terms of fossil fuels, the natural gas consumption of U.S. gas firms is likely to surpass the gas consumption of U.S. consumers for the first time by 2025. This will exacerbate tensions between export-oriented gas companies and domestic gas users. Andy Home, ROI's Columnist for Metals, shares his main takeaways following the recent London Metal Exchange Week. Spoiler alert: everyone loves Doctor Copper. Gold, the most famous of all metals, saw its prices plummet on Tuesday. This was the biggest drop in five years. Gold is up over 50% in this year despite its fall from a record high of $4,300.
Check out what the ROI team recommends you read, watch, and listen to as we enter the weekend. Stay informed and prepared for the coming week.
This weekend we will be reading... CLYDE RUSSELL. ROI Asia Commodities and Energy columnist. My suggestion for this week is a report by the OECD on Australia's Green Iron Potential. The report outlines both the size of the opportunity and the enormous challenge that comes with funding and coordinating a major shift for the largest iron ore producer in the world. MIKE DOLAN is ROI Financial Markets Editor at Large. This column by Jacob Funk Kirkegaard, of the Peterson Institute, explores the possibility that a fiscal crisis in France - the EU's sole nuclear power - could result in the transference of France's nuclear deterrent cost to the EU. RON BOUSSO is the ROI Energy columnist. This fascinating investigation reveals that dark fleet oil tankers are not only used for dubious Iranian and Russian oil trade. These vessels are being used also by Mexican drug cartels to trade illegal oil and evade taxes in a thriving market. Andy HOME, ROI Metals columnist: The most fascinating thing I read this week was about the underground race that will be held in Boliden’s Garpenberg Zinc mine in Sweden. Participants will run in darkness and complete silence, with temperatures up to 30degC.
We're listening... GAVIN MAGUIRE. ROI Global Energy Transition columnist. This is an interesting podcast about the possibilities of EV battery recycling. The plan is to "turn a massive wave incoming of used batteries into a resource for the grid."
We're watching... ANNA SZYMANSKI (ROI Editor-in Charge): I know I recommended the World News vodcast to you last week but I am doing it again so that you don't forget the new video version. Opinions are the sole responsibility of the author. These opinions do not represent the views of News. News is bound by the Trust Principles to maintain integrity, independence and neutrality. Want the Morning Bid delivered to your inbox each weekday morning? Subscribe to the newsletter by clicking here. You can find ROI at the website and follow us on LinkedIn or X.
(source: Reuters)